STOP, DROP, AND ROLL

jeanette and i were driving back from ft. smith tonight, which is about 20mins. east of us and we ran into this huge super cell storm. we were on I-40 and there were times that i had to slow down to 40mph. that was some of the heaviest rain that i have ever driven in. as we were slowed down, i looked over on the side of the road and saw animals starting to line up in pairs...it was really weird. we are officially in tornado season up here and, although sallisaw doesn't normally get tornadoes, there are a lot in the area. which is really weird for us. we're not use to living in tornado ally quite yet. it is nice that we're not the ones getting the tornadoes though. i honestly don't know what i'd do if one did happen. all i remember is the tornado drills at school when we use to STOP, DROP, AND ROLL.

What a Weekend...

wow, what a weekend indeed. we had operation freedom friday night and had 55 teenagers there along with about 20 parents and volunteers. we had some crazy, stupid fun. i swear the adults had as much fun as the youth did. operation freedom lasted until 9pm and then we had Jeff and Kim Livsey, who were interviewing for our Children's Pastor position, come in at about 10:30 that night. after showing them around, talking with them and getting to know them a little we finally left for home at about 1:30am.

naturally, after getting home, my lovely wife wanted to keep me up until 3am asking about every detail from the minute she left the church to my arriving at our front door. we woke up bright and early saturday morning to the sound of the sun rising (it seemed like). then took Jeff and Kim around town showing them rental properties and the rest of Sallisaw. after eating lunch, we had meetings with them and church volunteers until about 5:30pm and dinner at Dr. Rick and Karen Robbins home until about 9:30pm. after which we wisked away to the prom at the high school to have some fun. crashing in bed with my mind still going about 90mph i finally reached REM sleep at about 2am.

Jeff and Kim did both children's services sunday morning, which i sat in on, and did a phenomenal job! we finally got home from church at about 2pm and i immediately crashed until about 6:30pm. after spending all weekend with this couple, jeanette and i have two new great friends. they are amazing people and i really do hope that God allows it all to work out with them coming here. i personally believe that we already have the most amazing church anywhere in the area and they would compliment our church and our way of doing ministry excellently. i am just so excited about all that God is doing here at the Journey Church! I am Living the Dream...

Operation Freedom Part:2

i just had the time of my life tonight. we had a video scavenger hunt that the teens had to go and rescue one of 6 yard gnomes from someone's yard. then, they had 2 pages of objectives that were on a point base value that ranged from 50 points to 1000 points. there were objectives from the gnome working behind a register at a fast food restaurant to driving a car as if in a high speed chase and even dumpster diving for hidden treasure. we had about 55 teenagers show up and their final task that is worth 1000 points is to have their entire team at the same service on sunday morning with their gnome! i had so much stinkin fun tonight! i can't wait to go and watch all of these videos now.

Operation Freedom

we are doing this event tomorrow night that is going to be so much fun. it's called Operation Freedom. this is a very top secret hush hush event. nobody has a clue what it's even about yet. we've been announcing it for about a month and everyone is about to explode in anticipation. due to the secresy of the event, i can't give you any details until after tomorrow night but, i can give you one clue, the whole evening revolves around a roaming gnome. this is going to be so much fun. i can't wait to tell you all about it!

Duct Tape

i've heard people say that duct tape can fix or hold anything together. and, over the years, i've found this to be quite true. so, last night at my youth service we decided to put this to the ultimate test. we took 2 teams of 5. 1 team of guys and 1 team of girls. and, we gave them each a roll of duct tape and told them they had to duct tape one teammate to the wall and who ever stayed the longest won. AND, IT REALLY WORKED!!! i could see how, if they hadn't been rushed by me that they could have taped them good enough to stay up there for quite a while. i was truly amazed by this. so, if you and some friends are ever bored and want something to do but all you have is a roll of duct tape. HOOK IT UP!

Pocket

Today is a very monumental event for some dear friends of mine. Pocket Full of Rocks is releasing their new album "Songs to the King" today. Pocket has forever changed how I approach the Throne of God in worship. If you want to hear a CD that will not only inspire you, but also change your life; then go get this CD today. If you purchase it at Wal-Mart, you will also receive an amazing Bonus DVD that was produced by Unblind Productions. Unblind Productions is one of the most creatively gifted production companies out there. I know you will enjoy this DVD.

MySpace

If you're under the age of 25 and don't have or at least know what a MySpace is by now then you've been living under a rock for some time now. To be quite honest, I fell under that category until just here recently when my friend Brock Gill and Pastor Jeff introduced it into my life. In getting on there, I was completely blown away. MySpace isn't just another website, it's a completely different world of it's own. It's amazing the people you will find on it as well. I found friends that I haven't seen or talked to in years. Just to give you an idea of how big this phenomenon is growing, as of today (3-7-06) there are over 61,000,000 profiles set up on MySpace. Each one is of an individual or an orginization of some sort. People are actually starting to call the generation that is growing up now, the "MySpace Generation".

Ten years ago people were saying "You can tell what kind of person a teenager is by looking at their bedroom.". Now they're saying "You can tell what kind of person a teenager is by looking at their MySpace page.". MySpace is the 7th most hit English speaking website in the world. This truly is sweeping our generation. I've heard of a lot of people slamming MySpace, particularly Christians, talking about how worldly and sinful it is. But, just like anything, it's only as worldly and sinful as the person who is using it. I choose to use MySpace as a way to stay connected to old friends and connect with new ones and network together in ministry with other people who share the same passions as I do. I encourage you to go check it out at www.myspace.com and decide what you think about it. If you set up a MySpace page, go to www.myspace.com/mattcaler and add me as a friend. I look forward to seeing you in the virtual world of MySpace!

Excited

Well, we've been back in lovely Sallisaw, OK for 6 months now and are just so blessed to be here. God has been doing so many things in our lives, ministry, and our AMAZING church. The church has more than doubled in the last 8 months and we are now looking at hiring a new Children's Pastor/Master's Commission Director in the next month or two. It's so cool to see all of the extremely well qualified people who are all chomping at the bit to come to little 'ol Sallisaw and be a part of what God is doing at the Journey Church.

This is particularly exciting to me because, I feel like we're going to be adding another family member. Our staff, as well as the entire church, is so tightly knit together that it truly does give you that sense of family. All I know is, they better have a great sense of humor and be willing to either play XBOX LIVE or golf with me. Those are the most important questions they're going to hear coming out of my mouth. Pastor Jeff has all of the other stuff covered, but I just want to know that they know how to have fun! We'll see how it all pans out. I'll keep you posted. You can be sure though, when you hear back from me on this subject, you'll be hearing about somebody who fills those specifications.

burning bridges won't help you mend fences

I really had a great time over the weekend despite having to attend my grandmother's funeral. Jeanette and I went back home to Texarkana on Saturday to attend Pastor Jeff's baby sister's wedding and go to a baby shower for Jeanette's best friend from high school. It was a beautiful wedding and baby shower; we got to see a lot of old familiar faces that we haven't seen in a long time. After coming back home to Sallisaw, OK that night I left out again after church on Sunday to come back for my grandmother's funeral on Monday.

Sunday night I had a great time hanging out with a long time friend, Jackie Allensworth. We played some XBOX 360 and went and ate some double whoppers and came back and played some more XBOX and literally laughed until we cried about old times, and some not so old times. It's great to be able to go back home and drop in and see a great friend like Jackie when I have the chance. We don't ever really talk about anything of significance; we just enjoy each others company a lot. I have not always been the best at keeping old friendships burning, but I can say that one important lesson in life that I have learned is this. Burning bridges will never help you mend fences. Although, I may not be the best at keeping old friendships burning; I will never burn a bridge that will keep me from going back and mending that relationship through God's timing. If you have any old friends that you haven't talked to in a while, even if you may have burned the bridge, I encourage you to call them or shoot them an email this week and try to mend that fence. I believe that God places people in our lives as gifts, and for us to throw away a gift that He has given us is worse than sqaundering away a family inheritance. Make your life more enjoyable today; call that person that you've wanted to call for a while but felt that you couldn't. It'll be worth your while, I promise...

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

This show has totally changed my life. It's amazing that some networks are trying to go against the flow of everyone else. This show totally goes against everything else that is on TV. It is making us all think more about giving to others to see their dreams come true rather than looking inward and selfishly trying to fulfill all of the desires of our own flesh. This has got to be the best "feel-good" show on television. It's like having church on Sunday nights in your own living room. Our church has even started something called "Project Elevation" that was inspired by this show along with Oprah. You can go check it out at www.journeychurchonline.com . I love television that inspires us to be better people. There are already too many shows that inspire us to be selfish and to only think of ourselves. Be sure to watch it this week and see how God can touch your life through this show.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Jeanette, by now, I know that you think that I have all but completely forgotten your birthday. Although, we haven't gotten to spend any of it together, we are finally together now. Let's cherish what we have left of today. I know that you're wondering why I have not even so much as mentioned a birthday gift today. I hope that it will have been a wait that was well worth it. At your convenience, you can check a certain red chair that was adored by your youth to find your gift from me. I hope that you have enjoyed the many emails and MySpace comments that you have received today. I love you dearly, and grow to love you more and more with every passing year. Happy Birthday.
Your Husband,
Matt

Dinner for 10

Once a month, my wife and I randomly invite 10 people over from our youth group to have dinner with us on a Saturday night. This is something that we started a few months ago and has started to become one of my favorite things that we do. It is so hard to get to know people on an intimate level when you are in a large group setting; especially in a setting that is as crazy and insane as our youth service. That's why I am growing to love Dinner for 10 so much. It's a chance for us to get to know people's lives instead of just knowing their faces. I encourage you to invite someone over for dinner this month that you don't normally get to spend much time with. Let's share our lives and see how God works in and through us all.

i've been hustled

if anyone ever invites you to play a game with them, just know that they are probably asking you because they know that they are good at it and you are not and they are going to spank your pants right off of your hynie. i was up late last night trying to tie up loose ends for our service tonight and pastor jeff IMs me and invites me to play bankshot billiards on our new msn messenger betas. i figure, why not, i need a break anyway. then he proceeds to kick the everloving crap out of me for an undisclosed number of games. i only won 2 games out of ALOT, and one of them was because he ran the ENTIRE table from break to 8-ball and accidently knocked one of mine in as well as the 8-ball...it was the only ball of mine that got knocked in that game because i didn't even get to shoot. if i didn't know any better i'd swear that he leads a double life as a virtual pool shark. so, just a warning for all of you out there, next time somebody asks you to play a game with them, you're probably fixin to get your hynie handed to you.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Today is the one day of the year that corporate America gets to cash in on our love for our significant other. You know, sometimes money just can't buy the best gift (don't hold me to that). A lot of times, the best gift you can receive is something from the heart. As a guy, I never expect any kind of hooplah or big gifts or anything on Valentine's Day but, it really makes my day when I wake up in the morning and find a card with something really sweet written in it from my amazing wife. And, I do mean amazing. My wife is the most beautiful, compassionate, caring, selfless, and loving human being on the face of the planet and I am BEYOND blessed to have her as a soulmate to share my life with. She adds the spice to my life. Jeanette, I love you and am beside myself every day that I get out of bed just because I have you in my life. I love you!

weather

it's 40 degrees and snowing today. how weird is that? it's mixed with alot of rain too though so, i guess it's not "really snowing". it's just cool to see any kind of snow, being from texas and all. it'd be nice to get a few inches of the real thing sometime. the last time i got to see snow was the second week of december when we went on vacation to Wolf Creek to go skiing in Colorado. now that was an experience. one, i'll save for another time...

AMAZING SERVICE

well, i was so sick last night that i wasn't able to preach. but, it didn't matter because God doesn't need me to move in the lives of others. the night before as i layed in bed between my frequent trips to the bathroom to "pray" i mentioned to my wife jeanette that i didn't know what i was going to do about the service if i even felt half this bad there was no way that i would be able to preach. after she left to go get me some medicine from wal-mart she came back and walked in the room and said "i can preach". "WOW, okay", i said. so she did. all i had to do last night was get up and do the announcements and the offering while trying not to "pray" on everyone in the front row. she preached an amazing message, was inspiringly confident, and made me oh so proud to be her husband. when she did the altar call 12 people took a stand to give their lives to Christ in front of all their peers. i was so pumped! several people asked me after the service what i thought. i simply replied, "i think i'm going to have her preach more often." if you'd like to learn more about my beautiful, lovely, anointed wife go check her out at www.myspace.com/jeanettecaler or www.jeanettecaler.blogspot.com

sick

i'm sick and tired of bein sick and tired! well, an interesting chain of events has occured over the last week leaving me sick. some old friends of ours, brock and auny gill, who we haven't seen in several years came to town and stayed with pastor jeff last week. i got to see them and hang out with them some on friday and we went to lunch and got to catch up and laugh about old times. brock, however, was sick. well, brock and auny left that day and low and behold pastor jeff comes up to the office sick yesterday. stupid me, at some point hugs him and shakes his hand leaving me vulnerable to the virus. AAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!! although, i don't know how i really got sick, the fun thing to do is blame it all on brock since he's not here to defend himself. besides, i can't blame it on pastor jeff...he signs my paychecks. ;) HAHA!

humbled

There are times in life that everyone has, what Oprah would call, "AHA!" moments. I had one of these tonight. You know, it's very easy to forget where we come from sometimes. Living in South East Oklahoma you see a lot of people who are living very hard lives. Unfortunately, after a while you can actually start to become numb to some of the situations around you...until one finally hits close to home. We have so many amazing teenagers in our Youth Ministry that you fail to ask where some of them come from sometimes. You see a healthy looking teenager that is always smiling and overjoyed to help others and make a difference in the lives of those around them and you automatically assume that person comes from a well-rounded home with Godly parents who are constantly loving and supporting them...Until, you begin to develop a closer relationship with that person and find out that their homelife isn't near what you had expected. I was, just so, enlightened here recently. I too grew up in a broken home. One might say, so broken that it was much like a familiar nursery rhyme such as Humpty Dumpty. However, I often forget the past from which I came because, both, the present and the future that God has given me are oh so bright. But, then I see someone in my Youth Group who reminds me so much of myself when I was their age and, then I finally find out just how similar their life is to mine as a teenager. Going though the trials of adolescence with the responsiblities that only adults should feel. Living a life at home in wait for your next opportunity to leave the house. Counting the minutes until bedtime, which is not always pleasant due to your current living situation. Counting the hours until school, that are cut so short by the sounding of a three o'clock bell. Counting the days until church so you can go somewhere that you know you will be loved unconditionally and have the opportunity to worship your creator who is not only your spiritual redeemer but, will also one day be your "physical" deliverer from your current home situation that you are in bondage to. Counting the years until graduation when you can finally say "I am my own man/woman now and can pursue the dreams that God has given me for my life and my family". I remember these feelings all too well and, as I look around myself at the precious young faces that surround me, I am constantly reminded why I do what I do for a living. It's not a job, it's a calling. I remember...and I am humbled.

Encouraged

Today at our church we began holding a 24hr. Prayer Vigil for members of our church to come in and pray whenever they wanted, for our city, our church body, and everything that is going on right now. We had staff members and elders of the church come in and take 2 hr. shifts to oversee and pray with anyone who wanted or stand in prayer in an absence of anyone being there. Being the person who probably keeps the oddest hours of everyone in the church, me and my wife Jeanette elected ourselves to take the Midnight-4am shift. I knew that we had 1 or 2 teenagers in the youth group who had signed up but, to my surprise at at about 2am we had 7 warm bodies walk through the doors all wearing hoodies, pajama pants, and house shoes all ready to pray for their city, schools, friends, and their youth group. It was amazing to see these young men and women of God marching with purpose alongside one another while a good majority of their peers, the sane ones at least, were nestled tightly in their beds preparing themselves to sleep late on a Saturday morning. But, not these young people, I believe almost every one of them either had to be up at 7am or earlier, either for work or some sort of school activity. Ya know, people can say what they want about the young people of this generation but, I believe that God is raising up some elite warriors for his kingdom in our midst. It's easy to notice the masses who don't care and have no ambition in life but, I believe it's time for us all to start praising the young people who are choosing to stand up and be heard by their King and make a difference in the lives of those around them to echo out through a generation. This is a salute to you. Never give up and never look back...
Serving the Master,
Pastor Matt

Starting to BLOG

Well, this is my first BLOG. I hear that it's great yet, can be very addictive. Oh my, I hope not. I would really hate to start a nasty habit that I can't kick. That would be just my luck. Try something new that a friend recommended and it just turn right around and bite me in the rear. Man oh man, I hope that doesn't happen! I just want this to be a good relationship between the two of us. Just me and BLOGing...You respect me and I will show you the same amount of respect right back. I would hate to start another BLOG about how I don't like BLOGing but, I'll do it...I ain't scared. Well, I'll get off of here before you and I get tired of one another too quick. Don't worry I'll be back. You just sit tight right here and I'll come back soon...Okay???Okay.